BEDJ 13: A. Potter in a Snake’s World

WARNING. CONTAINS MAJOR DEATHLY HALLOWS SPOILERS. IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE BOOKS (what the hell are you waiting for, serious, it’s been out for years?!?!), THEN DO. NOT. GO. ANY. FURTHER.

In the epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling offers us a foggy glimpse of the Wizarding World 19 years after The Boy Who Lived defeated Lord Voldemort. At Kings Cross, Harry and Ginny are taking Albus Potter, their second child, to board the train for his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. While we get various cameos by Draco Malfoy and his family, hear about Neville Longbottom’s job, and witness the love affair between Teddy Lupin and Victoire Weasley, the most important thing we’re shown is the apprehension Albus is feeling about being possibly being sorted into Slytherin instead of Gryffindor.

There has been intense speculation about which House the 11-year-old would eventually be Sorted into. I realize the discussion is frivolous because it’s fiction, and usually fictional worlds can only exist within the pages of the book, but JK Rowling is a creator of a different breed. Even after her series ended, she revealed revelation after revelation about our favorite characters. Hence, discussions like “Which House will Albus be Sorted Into” exist, even more so because she probably knows.

The answer to the question then? My money is on Slytherin.

First of all, we all know how Rowling likes to give clues about character’s secrets, such as Sirious being named after the dog star and Remus being named after the boy raised by wolves in Roman mythology. Therefore, with Severus in the name, that’s clue one. Clue two comes in Albus’s initials: ASP, which is a type of snake.

We’re also shown that Albus is most like Harry, who has some prominent Slytherin traits. While Harry had some of those traits (such as talking to snakes) due to Voldemort, he also had cunningness, resourcefulness, determination, and ambition. These are the qualities that truly make a Slytherin a Slytherin. And if Albus is like Harry in personality as much as he is in appearance, it makes sense. (I think I should note that while I think Harry would have been great in Slytherin, I think his Gryffindor qualities were more prominent.)

Thirdly, Harry calms Albus’s worries by telling him that Severus was a Slytherin and he was “probably the bravest man” he ever knew. When Albus protests again, Harry assures him that if gets into Slytherin, the House will have gained an excellent student. After nearly two decades, the dark reputation, while still there, would have at least faded. I’d like to think that Harry realized that Hogwarts can’t have the division of the rest of the Houses versus Slytherin, because that kind of animosity breeds negativity. We’re shown again and again in the series that it doesn’t matter what House you’re in, a true judgment of character relies solely on your actions.

From a story-telling perspective, Sorting him into Gryffindor after such a poignant moment between father and son just seems like a waste of time. And why focus the epilogue on Albus? Why not James, the firstborn? Why not Lily, the lastborn? It would have been a better ending anyhow if we’re shown Harry’s last child heading off to Hogwarts. But Rowling chose Albus, who she said in an interview that his story is the most interesting of the new generation. What would be interesting about a Potter child entering Gryffindor? We’ve seen that before, there’s nothing new and different about it.

So until Rowling writes his story and tells me different, Albus Severus Potter will be Sorted into Slytherin in my world.
----------------------------
VEDJ: meatless ravioli
         : juice
         : A poptart
         : two slices of pizza and cheesy bread
EEDJ: Three miles (jogged 6/10th of a mile of that)

Tomorrow, I'll be posting my thoughts as I prepare to watch the last Harry Potter film at midnight.